Italian ordinal numbers

Learn the ordinal numbers in Italian! The first ten ordinal numbers in Italian has to be learned by heart, then they follow a simple rule. But the words are often difficult to pronounce!

Ordinal numbers

The ordinal numbers from 1st to 10th has to be learn by heart.

1°primo
2°secondo
3°terzo
4°quarto
5°quinto
6°sesto
7°settimo
8°ottavo
9°nono
10°decimo

From 11th the ending -esimo is added to the basic number. The last vowel is dropped:
undici > undic_ -esimo > undicesimo

The last vowel, however, remains for numbers ending in -tré and in -sei:
ventitré > ventitre -esimo > ventitreesimo
ventisei > ventisei -esimo > ventiseiesimo

11°undicesimo
12°dodicesimo
13°tredicesimo
14°quattordicesimo
15°quindicesimo
16°sedicesimo
17°diciassettesimo
18°diciottesimo
19°diciannovesimo
20°ventesimo
23°ventitreesimo
26°ventiseiesimo
30°trentesimo
87°ottantasettesimo
99°novantanovesimo
100°centesimo

Ordinal numbers are adjectives, so their number and gender are determined by their reference word.
il quinto piano the fifth floor
la quinta settimana the fifth week

If the ordinal number is given as a digit there is a raised o, as you have seen in the table. In fact, the last letter of the numeral should be raised, if possible:
il 5° piano
la 5ª settimana

Share our post

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Your online bookstore specialized in learning Italian.

Our latest posts

Follow us

donate
Start typing to see posts you are looking for.
Waiting List & Backorder We will notify you when the product is back in stock. Please leave us your email address below.